A micro-LED has a very small chip size. For example, a linear dimension of the chip may be less than 50 μm or less than 10 μm. The linear dimension may be as small as 2 μm or 4 μm.
Lateral diffusion of electrons may reduce the efficiency of micro-LEDs. When current is injected into an LED, electrons diffuse in many directions. Because of the small size of micro-LEDs, most of the electrons are lost at an interface of the micro-LED in a process known as surface recombination. These lost electrons cannot contribute to the generation of light by the micro-LED. This effect becomes especially pronounced when the diffusion length of the electrons approaches the linear dimension of the chip of the micro-LED.